on our broadcast here tonight, the walmart women. a huge loss today for more than a million women who tried to sue for discrimination on the job. tonight what this means for the american workforce. out of control. those wildfires in the west have more people, more homes in danger tonight. making history. the first lady, her mother and her daughters. tonight their mission, and their message half a world away. severe reaction. remember the time before peanut allergies? it wasn't long ago, now it has changed life in some unimaginable ways. and remembering the big man. there was only one clarence clemons and now he's left us with that unique sound. clemons and now he's left us with that unique sound. "nightly news" begins now.

captions paid for by nbc-universal television good evening. it was the largest job discrimination case in american history until the u.s. supreme court shot it down just today. it was a huge class-action lawsuit by more than a million american women against one company, walmart, the largest private employer in this country. this ruling now makes it tougher for the women involve to seek justice, and it takes it tougher for other similar cases to succeed in the future. you have heard the expression, too big to fail. this case was indeed too big to succeed. it's where we begin with our justice correspondent pete williams at the court tonight. pete, good evening. >> reporter: brian, in throw ing this case out before it could even go to trial t court said women suing walmart had too many

things that are disparate, not enough in common to wage discrimination into one mass lawsuit. the ruling is a huge legal blow to betty dukes in california, a walmart greeter and one of the first to sue. >> if you are a major corporation in america and have the resource, then you definitely have a greater advantage over us that have little to no means. >> reporter: with only small claims individually, the women filed a class-action lawsuit t only way most were likely to get into court. they claimed the company had a permeated 3,000 stores. but by a ruling of 5-4, with the three women justices justices d, the court said that wasn't

enough, that the employees failed to prove that walmart had a general policy on discrimination. it's impossible to say, the court concluded that there's a specific common reason that caused all the women to lose out on a race or promotion, an essential element of a class action. lawyers for the company say the fight is now over. >> the plaintiff's lawyers may try to reconfigure this case in a class action, but i think their efforts are destined to fail because as the court ruled today, their legal theory just doesn't hold water. >> reporter: but the lawyer who brought the case against walmart now say they will try something more limited. >> we are also exploring some cases of smaller scope geographically. we're not going to let down a million and a half women. >> reporter: though their lawyers agree, the women will now have little legal recourse and it will make it harder to bring big class actions against large employers by generalizing a number of claims into a big lawsuit. >> so long as the company has a don discriminatory policy, you can't establish your right to bring a class-action lawsuit on behalf of all their employees or on behalf of all of their customers by kind of surveys or ideas about corporate cultures.

>> reporter: ge part owner of nbc has sided with walmart. >> pete williams starting us off at the court on this big, big case, this big decision today, pete, thanks. if you kept up with the news at all over this past weekend, you know the news is bad out west, the battle continues with the wildfires in arizona and beyond. tonight from sierra vista, arizona, miguel, good evening. >> reporter: brian, good evening. as well as to our viewers here out west. firefighters caught a huge break today, winds were whipping around this area over the weekend, at close to 60-mile-per-hour, today, they're at about 10 miles an hour. although tonight they are kicking back up. firefighters had to evacuate several thousand people this weekend as several fires across this state rage on.

arizona's moving monster, beneath columns of smoke, the fire marching toward the city of sierra vista, it has destroy ed 44 homes and charred 33 square miles. fanned by 50 miles an hour winds that day, evacuations now stand at 12,000 people. barbara reeves doesn't know if her home is still standing. >> i just want to know if my house burned down. i thought maybe they would know. >> reporter: this year, four million acres have been devoured by wildfires nationwide. the southwest, arizona, new mexico, oklahoma, and texas, the hardest hit. outside houston, 30 homes have been destroyed, a fire also fanned by strong winds. on capitol hill, the chief of the u.s. forest service blames climate change for this year's historic fires. >> we are going to continue to have large fires and the changing climate is one of the factors that will continue to that. . >> reporter: back in arizona where there's been no rain since december, thousands left homeless and helpless. barbara reeves left to wait, watch and worry.

>> it's horrible. it's horrible. i just want it to stop. >> reporter: in the hills behind me, we're told more homes have likely been lost. although there is some good news, calmer winds are expected to prevail through the next day or two, that's certainly a break for firefighters, but there is some stepped up concern, as a matter of fact the national guard has been ordered to this area, the national troops will be out here assisting firefighters throughout the next several days. >> miguel, thanks. we go overseas now starting with libya. nato acknowledged today one of its air strikes over the weekend did in fact accidently hit a residential neighborhood in the capital city of tripoli, killing several civilians on the ground. another nato air strike destroyed a family compound belonging to a gadhafi insider, killing more civilians there

including children. all of this, of course, just adding to the ramped up tensions over the libyan operation. nbc's stephanie gosk is in tripoli tonight with the very latest. >> reporter: this used to be the lavish compound of one of gadhafi's highest ranking generals, now reduced to rubble by multiple nato bombs. the libyan government says 15 people were killed including three children. the general narrowly escaped. >> another crime against humanity, committed by the criminal organization of nato. >> reporter: but nato calls these now leveled buildings a high level command and control center, a legitimate military target, unlike early sunday morning, when an air strike killed nine people, including two children in a densely populated neighborhood in tripoli. nato later acknowledged that there was a weapons system failure. the libyan government quickly took advantage of this incident and called nato a barbarian, murderous organization that's deliberately targeting civilians.

nato says this was a mistake. it is the first time since the campaign began that nato has admitted accidentally killing civilians. >> i can assure you that we do all we can to avoid civilian casualties. and so far, we have been quite successful. >> reporter: it makes no real difference to abdul rahman. all he knows is that nato killed his neighbors, his house is ruined and his family is terrified. down the road men gather outside for the first of many funerals. this neighborhood is known for its anti-gadhafi sentiment. it may now be anti-nato too. stephanie gosk, nbc news, tripoli. also tonight, first lady michelle obama is overseas on her biggest solo foreign trip so far. this one a trip to africa. actually all the obama women are on this trip. the first lady is traveling with her mother and with both daughters. traveling with them and reporting tonight from

johannesburg, nbc's kristen welker. kristen, good evening. >> reporter: good evening, brian. there's a lot of excitement and anticipation and excitement surrounding the first lady's trip to botswana. people are telling me they're having a hard time putting their feels into words. michelle obama and her daughters touched down this evening, she is on a mission of diplomacy and goodwill, america's first african-american first lady visiting her ancestral home land. >> this trip to africa, will allow michelle obama to shine on her own. >> reporter: she will highlight her husband's agenda for subsaharan africa. which he mapped out in guyana two years ago. >> development depends on government governance. >> reporter: but it will be mrs. obama's voice that resonate this is week. >> i think it will be a strong symbol to the african-american people that the u.s. administration is very much focussed on african growth and development.

>> reporter: mrs. obama will travel from the capital of pretoria to johannsberg to cape town, and she will tour the archives of the nelson mandela foundation, and robin island, the infamous jail where mandela was imprisoned for 20 years. >> it's meaningful for africans and for south africans who have gone through this long, national struggle. >> reporter: and also for americans who also endured a painful racial past. on wednesday, mrs. obama will deliver her keynote address to 75 young women in soweto. addressed in agenda, the aids crisis. >> reporter: southern africa has been the epicenter of the global hiv epidemic. >> reporter: americans have long been fascinated by first ladies flying solo. jacqueline kennedy captivated the world with her goodwill tour to india and pakistan in 1962. over time, first ladies' overseas trips began to take on

more weight and meaning, and criticism. mrs. obama raised eyebrows last summer, for a lavish private vacation to spain, amid negative economic news. this week will draw a different kind of attention. now at this point, mrs. obama is not scheduled to meet with nelson mandela. that could change. he is 92 and in frail health. she is definitely scheduled to meet with his wife. brian? >> kristen welker in jo berg traveling with the first lady on this trip. and when we come back from a break tonight, seemingly out of nowhere, in just a few years time really, tonight the dangers posed to children by food allergies in this country. what we have learned now. and so much more than just a side man, tonight the sound the big man left us all. . . a. l. l. . . a. ll.

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i have this thing called psoriatic arthritis. i had some intense pain. it progressively got worse. my rheumatologist told me about enbrel. i'm surprised how quickly my symptoms have been managed. [ male announcer ] because enbrel suppresses your immune system, it may lower your ability to fight infections. serious, sometimes fatal events including infections, tuberculosis, lymphoma, other cancers, and nervous system and blood disorders have occurred. before starting enbrel, your doctor should test you for tuberculosis and discuss whether you've been to a region where certain fungal infections are common. don't start enbrel if you have an infection like the flu. tell your doctor if you're prone to infections, have cuts or sores, have had hepatitis b, have been treated for heart failure, or if, while on enbrel, you experience persistent fever, bruising, bleeding, or paleness. get back to the things that matter most. good job girls. ask your rheumatologist if enbrel is right for you. it's hard to believe there was a time before peanut

allergies and even harder to believe, that time wasn't long ago. it's all happened really within the space of about a generation or so. for millions of american children, the risk, though, is so real and so severe. according to a new study, food allergies may not only be more serious, but also much for common than we were led to think. a report here from our chief science correspondent robert bazell. >> thank you. >> reporter: four-year-old audrey lau is being tested for allergies today, because her mom, kristen, a family doctor has noticed some strange reactions to many foods. >> it's very challenging because we have to obviously prepare special meals for her every time she eats and we really can't eat out in restaurants unless we pack her food in a cooler. >> reporter: and she's not alone. a study out today by researchers at children's memorial hospital in chicago, surveyed families of more than 40,000 children, aged 17 and younger. it found that fully 8% of

children, that's one in 12, had food allergies. and the most common allergies were to peanuts, followed by milk and shell fish. but all kinds of allergies are increasing and doctors are not sure why. the study shows that the prevalence of severe reaction s was rather high. >> reporter: according to the study the most common allergies were to peanuts, followed by milk and shell fish. but allergies to all kinds of foods seems to be increasing and doctors are mystified as to why. kids are not exposed to certain foods as early in life as they used to be. audrey's tests today revealed some good news. audrey's not allergic to shrimp and preliminary tests showed. other foods may be ruled out too. >> she's going to be able to eat so many more foods. >> reporter: the conclusion, food allergies are widespread and increasing but they require an accurate diagnosis, so parents can be aware of those foods that present the greatest risk.

robert bazell, nbc news, new york. >> and because a lot of people have a lot of questions on this topic on behalf of their kids, bob bazell will be taking questions tochbtd on our -- tonight on our facebook page, beginning at 7:00 eastern time. and up next tonight, was it something we said? well, more accurately something that was not said during sports coverage this weekend that set a lot of people off. if congress really wants to balance the budget... ...they could stop spending our money on things like... ...a cotton institute in brazil... ...poetry at zoos... ...treadmills for shrimp... but instead of cutting waste... or closing tax loopholes... next month, congress could make a deal that cuts medicare... ...even social security. i guess it's easier to cut the benefits we earned... than to cut pickle technology. ♪

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beating for something that was omitted during a sports coverage. there was an attempt at comedy that may not have been judged that funny and some comedians who were down right angry. mike tiabbi has our report. >> reporter: the capper to an i'd logically contentious weekend was a sports event, the final round of the u.s. open. it began with a patriotic montage with children reciting the pledge of allegiance. >> one nation -- with liberty and justice for all. >> reporter: but edited out twice in the segment "under god." nbc was swamped with complaints from a digital universe, unpatriotic and godless were the most frequent criticisms, prompting an on air apology. >> it was not done to upset anyone.

>> reporter: and today a second apology from nbc sports saying the "under god" omissions a bad decision. we're aware of the distress this caused many of our viewers. also distressed, republicans at a leadership conference and discussions over an obama impression's racially tinged jokes. >> you see, michelle, she celebrates the full month and i celebrha . hen other jokes bashing republicans. he got the hook. and on conservative network fox news, anchor chris wallace and liberal comedian jon stewart went at it. >> you really think that's a political comment? >> yes. >> you're insane. >> back at the republican leadership conference, texas governor rick perry won the loudest applause with this line. >> let's speak with proud about our morals and our values, let's stop this downward american spiral. >> reporter: right-left, red-blue, it seems our cultural divide is as wide as ever.

nbc's mike tiabbi. an organization called the internet corporation for assigned names and numbers and yes, there is such a thing decided today to throw open wide the gates of domain names going beyond the familiar dot-com, dot-net, dot-org type stuff to include just about anything you can imagine, any company, organization or government group can apply for a fee of $185,000 and up. somebody gave the example of dot-lipstick. it means just about any entry people can conceive of and avoid, like dot-god, or dot-dog, or one, dot-iwishihad$185,000formyown doe 911. tonight sadness on e street and around the world following the death of clarence clemons.

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yesterday, i found myself with a lot of other people from the jersey shore. we were drawn to the stone pony in asbury park, a bar just off the boardwalk that's synonymous with bruce springsteen and the e

street band and the sound and the feeling they created. people went there yesterday because they needed a place to go to remember clarence clemons. bruce springsteen's side kick and sax player and friend going back 40 years. like everybody else there i took pictures of the flowers and tributes outside, photos and candles and flowers. and inside, the stage where so much great music had been created was instead sad and solemn yesterday in the wake of the death of the big man. not a lot of rock bands have a saxophone and nobody else had clarence clemons. yes, the name of the outfit is bruce springsteen and the e street band, but that sound was always so different. in large part because of that shiny brass secret weapon and the big black man playing it. and once upon a time, even that was a novelty.

it was in the immediate wake of the civil rights era, after all, right after bruce springsteen burst on to the scene, we learned he was part of a package deal. bruce wrote and sang the songs, but those solos, those hooks, that soul, that was all clarence. everything changed when the big man joined the band. he achieved icon status as a musician, meaning when you heard it, you knew it was him. and they were a band of brothers, blood brothers, the two men were tight. clarence always called it a love affair among men and bruce felt the same way. >> together we told a story of the possibility of friendship, a story older than the ones that i was writing and a story that i could never have told without him at my side. i want to thank you, big man, i love you so much.

>> he was the son of a fish merchant in norfolk, virginia. in person and on stage, he was as big as a house, big enough to have played college football in maryland, but on his way to an nfl career with the cleveland browns a car accident blew out his knee and then he decided to make a living blowing his horn. and on a sunny father's day sunday in asbury park, the thought of not hearing that sound again was just too much for some of the faithful. >> you choked up. it's tough. >> this is the end of an era. >> in a photograph taken 36 years ago today, bruce is seen leaning on clarence clemons on the cover of "born to run" and he leaned on him a lot. he was the rock of that rock band. the question is, what are we going to do when it comes to time to play jungleland. ♪

>> it's not going to be easy, because for the fans it's personal, it's a great loss, clarence clemons, the big man was 69 years old. that's our broadcast on a monday night, thank you for being here with us, as we start off another week. i'm brian williams, we hope to see you back here tomorrow evening. good night. good evening. thanks for joining us on this warm monday. >> it took a long time to get here but the summer heat has arrived. it's a scorcher in the bay area today. in fact, the hottest day we have had since september. jeff, i know by my house it was hot. >> oh, yes.